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The Inuit people of the Canadian Arctic share an ancient form of music called katajjait (throat singing). Often improvised, women perform katajjait in pairs standing face to face, trading offrhythmic, guttural sounds through vocal manipulation and breathing techniques, creating rhythms that reach 240 beats per minute or more. Katajjait texts include comprehensible words, words that have lost their meanings, vocables (nonlexical syllables), and mimicking of nature sounds. According to Inuit performing artists Karin and Kathy Kettler (Nukariik), "Anyone can do the basic sound. Just say: 'Huumah!' deep in your throat" (www.nukariik. ca). Their debut album, Inuit Throat Songs and Drumming (2008), has twenty-four tracks of katajjait...